Pike Counties second jail and only remaining jail building, built in 1853 by Peter and Thomas Higgins, at $5.00 per perch, was used as a county jail until 1861 when the county seat was moved to Waverly. The two story building measured 45' by 36'. Note: First jail was a log structure built in 1817 and the first jail break came in 1819.
     A fire August 2nd 1900 destroyed the interior of the jail building.  The fire was contained by the Waverly fire department as Piketon had no fire department.  Waverly fire department charged $38.30 for there services and it got the city council on the ball and organized a volunteer fire department in October 1900.   Information curtsey Jim Henry
     Now used as Dogwood Headquarters. The building in the past has also been used as a personal residence. The Blanton Family owned it from about 1944 to 1953. The Blantons sold out to a company who used it as Elms Restaurant and gambling place.  It also has been Piketon's municipal building and police station.
     Jane Blanton Beverlin tells about as a kid the family of eight would go next door Saturday night to the opera house and watch a movie for 10 cents each.

 

    Jail cells that are still in the building and was used by the Piketon Police when the building was used as the police station.

    Picture of Dolly Evelyn Dunham Hall, known as "Teddy". born at the jail in 1909  Picture was taken at the old Piketon Jail.   Carla Dunham supplied this picture and she stated, " I know my grandparents lived there at least until 1912.  I've always heard my grandfather was the jailer but I don't know if this is true or not.  It's possible because he was a deputy in Scioto County in the 1920's when his brother Harry was the Sheriff."

    James Moore came to Ohio with his parents and 12 brothers and sisters.  They migrated to Chillicothe from Virginia in 1801 traveling overland to Pittsburgh then down the Ohio River by flatboat to Alexandria near present day Portsmouth.
     Using their horses and wagon, they cut their way to Chillicothe.  James was only 8 years old at this time.  A few years later he joined a flatboat expedition down the Scioto River and then up the Ohio to Kanawha River in Virginia (now West Virginia) and the salt works.  On the way back, he was forced to come overland from Alexandria because of low water.
    In his teens, he began an apprenticeship to George Haynes, a Chillicothe blacksmith.  He learned well but before he could strike out on his own, the War of 1812 began.  He volunteered as a private in Captain Sam Joes' volunteer company, serving until August 13, 1813 in Ohio.
    James moved to Piketon October 13, 1813, entering a partnership in the blacksmith shop of William Woods.  He kept the business, which was good because of the well traveled Chillicothe-Portsmouth transport business.
     By 1817, James had enough funds to Mary Ann Chenoweth, daughter of one of the first settlers of Pike County.  When she died, in 1853, he married Anna Bateman.  Neither marriage produced any children.
    He continued to "smithy" until 1829 when he was elected Sheriff and re-elected for three successive terms.  In 1839 he was appointed Ohio Deputy Marshall.
    In his military life, he remained active in the Ohio Militia, being commissioned a Lieutenant-Colonel in 1823 and a full Colonel in 1831.  Then he elevated to the rank of Brigadier General. 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, Ohio Militia.